Myth Buster: What Business Class Fixed Wireless Internet Isn’t

by Accel Net
on January 22, 2018

In and around Seattle the choices for fast, reliable, business class Internet are slim. Sure, we have an array of ISP options other than the phone and cable companies but many of them are simply reselling the “big box” carriers’ cable and fiber solutions. So, where do you go when you need true redundancy or you simply want another Internet option?

At this point, most of us carry a phone in our pocket and we’re familiar with cellular Internet (including when, where, and how well it works). And thanks to Dish Network and Sputnik, we’re also at least somewhat familiar with satellites and know they can beam us to the Internet (when the weather is pristine). With Net Neutrality making headlines and our cloud-induced appetite for Internet growing you might be wondering - is there another option for your business?

2. Fixed wireless is not part of the typical infrastructure:

At the core, all business class broadband providers have essentially the same framework; end user locations are connected to the ISP’s access network, and ultimately routed through the provider to the Internet. As mentioned above, these connections often run through the same underground conduit and across the same poles regardless of the provider, which makes them equally vulnerable to natural disasters and the dreaded “backhoe” mishap. Fixed wireless moves data through the air, from rooftops and is completely independent from any other provider’s infrastructure.

3. Fixed wireless is not costly:

Any company that requires redundancy for disaster recovery, SD-WAN, or any other application knows – running diverse lines into the building through the same conduit into the same demarcation point is a network with a single point of failure. They also know that building out a truly redundant fiber network takes months, from permitting, to construction, to turn-up. Fixed wireless is on the roof, requires comparatively less time to install, is equally or more reliable, and gives the peace of mind of true redundancy at a competitive monthly rate.

4. Fixed wireless is not affected by weather:

Accel Net utilizes the electromagnetic microwave spectrum antennas and frequencies to connect business customers wirelessly to our owned network towers. Similar to satellite, it’s on the roof but unlike how satellite sends signals through the atmosphere, making it susceptible to weather, fixed wireless signals travel a shorter distance and are not hindered by the atmosphere, fog, snow, rain or any other weather conditions.

5. Fixed wireless is not a space hog, slow, or unreliable:

Because microwave uses small wavelengths, the antennas and other supporting equipment has a small footprint and can be easily installed. However, the small footprint doesn’t mean a sacrifice in reliability or speed, which makes it a great candidate for high capacity data transport, WAN, LAN, SD-WAN, disaster recovery and VoIP applications.